Following an announcement by North Korea’s government that it will hold a rare plenary meeting to discuss agricultural issues later this month, the authorities have recently instructed provinces to select meeting participants, ready data and make other preparations.
A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that each province received detailed instructions on the selection of participants in the enlarged meeting of the Seventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee and on the documents the participants must prepare.
According to the source, the North Korean government said that the enlarged meeting will be a crucial gathering to discuss sector-to-sector tasks in efforts to further strengthen the material and technological base of the agricultural industry ahead of this year’s farming season, and to bring about an epoch-making resolution to the country’s food problem by firming up monitoring efforts from the start of this year’s farming season.
In particular, North Korea’s government ordered each province to secure irrigation facilities appropriate for their geographic conditions and draw up plans to ensure water for terraced fields, calling irrigation facilities that work no matter what the climatic conditions “the most important issue.”
North Korea’s leadership also ordered the preparation of various data, including soil analyses of farmland, analyses of irrigation conditions and analyses of progress in agricultural mechanization.
SELF-SUFFICENCY IN FOOD WILL “ELIMINATE SMUGGLING”
North Hamgyong Province, for its part, called for accelerated efforts to resolve fundamental problems in agriculture, saying food self-sufficiency eliminates smuggling and forms a base for building North Korea into a strong socialist state.
The province’s authorities said there must be a revolution in the agricultural sector since everything connects to it — if North Korea could resolve the food problem through self-sufficiency and provide regular supplies of food to the people, the people would fear nothing.
North Hamgyong Province stressed that when provincial officials carry out the Workers’ Party grand policies regardless of adverse conditions that will be debated at the upcoming plenary meeting, they can cause a revolution in the agricultural sector and ensure that the people live civilized lives.
The province’s authorities also ordered the writing of a draft plan for scientific farming in accordance with soil and lot conditions, and called on officials to hurry construction of modern agricultural housing as per this year’s plans, the source said.
“North Hamgyong Province called on agricultural officials to take the lead and achieve in a do-or-die fashion the plenary meeting’s decisions and policies when they emerge, with particular focus on independent guidance and management,” he said.
“The province also held a meeting on Feb. 18 and urgently discussed policy issues to present at the enlarged meeting.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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